photo by: Lauren Fox

Nina Trummel worked with a doula during the births of her first three children, and was "beyond thrilled" that LMH Health's recent policy change will allow her to do so for her next child, who is due at the end of March.

A fourth-time expectant mother was considering leaving her medical team at LMH Health less than a month before she was due, until the Lawrence hospital announced on Friday that it would change its delivery room policies.

Nina Trummel delivered her first three children at LMH Health with the help of her medical team and a local doula. But until Monday, expectant mothers were allowed only one support person while in labor because of restrictions adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trummel, who is due at the end of March, originally thought she would have to choose between switching to a new hospital that allowed two support people, or choosing her partner to be her support person and having her doula only be there virtually — options that likely would have “limited” her experience, she said.

But on Friday, LMH Health announced that starting Monday, laboring patients in the hospital’s Family Birthing Center could have a doula or a second support person in the room while the patient is in labor and up to two hours following the birth.

Trummel said she was “beyond thrilled” when she heard the news.

“I think it’s truly life changing for first time expectant mothers that couldn’t imagine doing it without another female representative or advocate in the room with them,” she said.

LMH Health is following the lead of other regional hospitals that previously changed their policies to allow more than one support person in the delivery room. Stormont Vail in Topeka just changed its policy to allow two visitors in delivery rooms on March 1, according to spokesperson Matt Lara. Lara said the hospital made the change based on the decreasing COVID-19 numbers in the community, but the hospital will continue to monitor the numbers and adapt its policies, if needed.

At the University of Kansas hospital in Kansas City, Kan., one support person and a doula have been allowed in delivery rooms since the beginning of the pandemic, according to spokesperson Jill Chadwick.

Lori Tillema, director of Maternal Child Services and Obstetrics at LMH Health, said the hospital had monitored the policies at other area hospitals and that “these decisions continue to be reached based upon safety and current resources available.”

“LMH recognizes that limitations can cause stress for patients, yet we have had to balance this with necessary limitations imposed on our facility due to the Covid pandemic,” she said in an email. “We recognize how important birth partners are for a laboring woman, and continue to work toward providing the best experiences for our patients during pregnancy and birth.”

A doula is a trained professional, but not a medical professional, who provides physical, emotional and informational support to mothers throughout the pregnancy and childbirth process. Trummel said doulas create “emotionally safe and secure” environments and advocate for the patient and her decisions.

“They are just very good at de-escalating what would otherwise be a stressful, unknown situation to parents,” she said. “I think back to my first birthing experience and how much my advocate helped me have the experience I wanted.”

Trummel said she knew she didn’t want to have a Caesarean section prior to her delivery day, but that had she not had a doula advocating for her wants during her delivery, she might have taken the advice of her medical team and had a C-section. That in turn could have negatively affected Trummel’s mental health post-childbirth, she said, because she would have had a different experience than she went in thinking she would have.

Lindsay Clements, a doula who lives in Lawrence and who worked with Trummel during her pregnancies, said she had at least five clients in 2020 and 2021 switch their choice of delivery spot to be able to have her in the room with them. But she’s also been doing virtual services since the pandemic began. While she’s able to communicate with her clients through texting, phone calls and Facetime calls during the delivery process, she has not been able to help mothers with position changes or other physical needs, such as getting them towels or cooling them off.

“Virtual service is just not the same,” Clements said.

Following’s LMH Health’s policy change, Clements said on Monday that she was “thrilled” and happy for her clients.

“This has been a really stressful time for some of them trying to make decisions on where to deliver their baby,” she said.

Trummel said it was important that LMH Health’s policy allows for either a doula or second support person to be in the delivery room. Not everyone can hire a doula, she said, so LMH Health’s policy is an equitable solution.

“It’s just like women in general having the option of having another woman or person of choice present while delivering,” she said.

Trummel said she hoped that all women choosing to deliver their babies at LMH Health would feel a sense of control in the selection process of who can be in the room. She is thrilled that LMH is giving expectant parents “the platform to step into the delivery room with more confidence and security.”

“If there is anything that these uncertain times have taught us, it’s how precious life is, and how it should be valued at every stage,” she wrote in a follow-up email to the Journal-World. “It makes me proud to be a patient of LMH, and validates the sense of dedication that I feel from my medical providers.”